Interested in Stephen Hawking?

Hawking finally lost his battle overnight with ALS, a rare form of motor neurone disease also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, outliving the predictions of doctors by decades. Hawking's family released a statement today saying, "His courage and persistence with his brilliance and humor inspired people across the world.

"He once said, 'It would not be much of a universe if it wasn't home to the people you love'. We will miss him forever."

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Stephen Hawking attends the EE British Academy Film Awards at The Royal Opera House, Feb. 8, 2015 in London.

The celebrated English physicist had attained almost a cult-like status in recent years. He wrote the bestselling book “A Brief History of Time” and appeared on hit TV programs like “The Simpsons” and “The Big Bang Theory,” while his life was the subject of multiple films including the Oscar-winning 2014 drama-romance “The Theory of Everything.”

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Eddie Redmayne in a scene from "The Theory of Everything," 2014.

"We have lost a truly beautiful mind, an astonishing scientist and the funniest man I have ever had the pleasure to meet," Eddie Redmayne, who starred as Hawking in “The Theory of Everything,” said in a statement today. "My love and thoughts are with his extraordinary family."

British Prime Minister Theresa May tweeted: "His legacy will not be forgotten."

"Professor Stephen Hawking was a brilliant and extraordinary mind - one of the great scientists of his generation. His courage, humour and determination to get the most from life was an inspiration. His legacy will not be forgotten." — PM

In 2007, Hawking became the first quadriplegic to experience weightlessness and has said his "ultimate ambition" was to go to space aboard a commercial suborbital spaceflight. Richard Branson's company Virgin Galactic once even promised Hawking a trip to space, and Hawking said he accepted immediately.

Remembering Stephen Hawking, a renowned physicist and ambassador of science. His theories unlocked a universe of possibilities that we & the world are exploring. May you keep flying like superman in microgravity, as you said to astronauts on @Space_Station in 2014 pic.twitter.com/FeR4fd2zZ5

Fellow scientists also paid tribute to the star of his generation, including U.S. astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and artificial intelligence researcher Demis Hassabis.

His passing has left an intellectual vacuum in his wake. But it's not empty. Think of it as a kind of vacuum energy permeating the fabric of spacetime that defies measure. Stephen Hawking, RIP 1942-2018. pic.twitter.com/nAanMySqkt

Even the Pontifical Academy of Sciences paid its respects, tweeting a picture of Hawking and Pope Francis.

We are deeply saddened about the passing of our remarkable Academician Stephen #Hawking who was so faithful to our Academy. He told the 4 Popes he met that he wanted to advance the relationship between Faith and Scientific Reason. We pray the Lord to welcome him in his Glory https://t.co/iZyWrFaLnr

And world leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took to Twitter to celebrate Hawking.

Professor Stephen Hawking was an outstanding scientist and academic. His grit and tenacity inspired people all over the world. His demise is anguishing. Professor Hawking’s pioneering work made our world a better place. May his soul rest in peace.

Film director Errol Morris, who directed a documentary on the physicist, wrote: "We were lucky to have him for so long."

It had to happen, eventually. We were lucky to have him for so long, and I was lucky to be able to work with him. A truly fabulous human being. Stephen Hawking. Funny, perverse, and, of course, brilliant.

YOU KNEW THIS UNIVERSE BETTER THAN THE REST OF US...AND NOW YOU PLAY IN SOME FAR AWAY PART OF IT. YOU CHANGED THE WORLD AND LEFT AN IMPACT...A REMARKABLE GENIUS WE WONT SOON FORGET. ENDLESS THANK YOUS AND BLESSINGS TO THE HAWKING FAMILY. GOD BLESS STEPHEN HAWKING. pic.twitter.com/UxnNknbMaB